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Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism
 
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Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (Paperback)

by Gershom Scholem (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
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Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism + On the Kabbalah and its Symbolism + The Messianic Idea in Judaism: And Other Essays on Jewish Spirituality
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Product Description

Review

"A crucially vital work in the long history of Jewish esoteric spirituality. Aside from its intrinsic importance, the book's influence has been enormous, and is likely to continue all but indefinitely."--Harold Bloom, Yale University

"Major Trends [is] the canonical modern work on the nature and history of Jewish mysticism. For a sophisticated understanding, not only of the dynamics of Jewish mysticism, but of the exquisite complexities of Jewish history and tradition, Major Trends is a major port of entry through which one must pass."--Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi, Columbia University


Product Description

A collection of lectures on the features of the movement of mysticism that began in antiquity and continues in Hasidism today.
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10 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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5.0 out of 5 stars Very Helpful Text on a Very Esoteric Subject, Jan 11 2004
By Miles (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
This historical-critical text of some 350 pages took me longer to read than I'd expected: many of the subjects discussed tend to be complex, even though Scholem's prose is always comprehensible. Fortunately, the book is partitioned into more or less independent chapters on different subjects, so you don't have to read through the entire thing uninterrupted to avoid losing a particular train of thought.

In numerous places, Scholem compares the various schools of Jewish mysticism to Gnosticism. Like the Gnostics, most of the Kabbalists -- even really strange thinkers like Sabbatai Zevi -- pursued hidden knowledge, rather than faith, as a means of establishing a direct relation with God. And like the Gnostics, many Kabbalists assumed that the soul of man exists in a state of exile from the true God, as a result of a primordial cosmological imbalance. The Sabbatians went as far in Gnostical thinking as to assume the existence of two Gods, a hidden one and a revealed one; although the Sabbatians reversed the traditonal Gnostic interpretation by preferring the revealed God (the God of Israel, whom the Gnostics opposed) to the hidden God. This striking set of similarities between Gnosticism and Jewish mysticism was the strongest impression I came away with from reading the book.

I found the Jewish mystics to be a colorful and profound group of thinkers. While just a bit dry in a few places, this book engagingly describes an impressive, energetic theological tradition.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly Enjoyable and Enlightening, Feb 5 2003
By A Customer
Although the print is kind of small and the notes are inconveniently at the end, this book is an excellent resource! I'm a Christian, and not a mystic. I bought this book to better understand some odd Christian teachings floating around in several modern church movements that I suspected, from other reading I'd done, are kabbalistic. The contents of this authorative book clearly delineate the relationship of Jewish mysticism and magic to the main features of these new Christian movements. (For instance, the current emphasis on holy spirit "anointings", visitations of the shekinah, and "the bride of Christ" clearly come from Judaica.) Christians interested in embracing their Hebrew roots need to read this, order to properly discern and divide what is scripture from what is tradition. (A copy of Abraham Cohen's "Everyman's Talmud" is very helpful too!)

Despite the esoteric topics, Gershom Scholem is fairly easy to understand, and the book is organized into logical topics. It also has a good index and tons of bibliographical references. A must for your reference shelf.

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4.0 out of 5 stars A Scholarly Look at Mysticism, Dec 8 2002
By A. J. Valasek (Clemmons, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
For those of you who want to understand where and how the major trends in Kabbalism developed, look no further. This book covers all of the major ideas in their proper historical context, from Gnosticism to Hasidism.

The author's concept or purpose is to dispel many of the misleading, and speculative notions on the nature of Jewish mysticism. In the process, taking the mystical/magical portions for the most part out of the equation.

What I like best about Scholem's work is that he is not so concerned with what the meaning of each Kabbalistic notion but is primarily concerned with where it originated and what circumstances allowed for the development of an idea. This allows for an objective and unbiased consideration of the concept being studied.

What you won't get in this book that you will find in most others about this subject is the promotion thereof. No evangelical tendencies exist which make for a more throrough reading.

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 		 Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Canonical Text
A must have for anyone studying both the historical context and importance of the Jewish Mystical movement. Read more
Published on Feb 2 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars uplifting sparks
I learned a great deal from this text, and further my spiritual understanding has been enhanced by Herr Doktor Gershom Scholem's (1897-1982) book, "MAJOR TRENDS IN JEWISH... Read more
Published on Jun 14 2001 by catherine guelph

5.0 out of 5 stars The Screwball Kabbalah
With these nine snapshots of Great Moments in Jewish Mysticism, Scholem gives an amazing crash course in an immense & complex spiritual tradition. Read more
Published on Mar 27 2001 by Arch Llewellyn

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview of Jewish mysticism - a classic
Scholem's work, Major Trends, is a classic in the academic study of Jewish mysticism. He covers the breadth of Jewish mysticism in a lucid manner, while still being able to... Read more
Published on Nov 13 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of 'Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism'
Gershom Scholem was President of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and a Professor of Jewish mysticism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem until his death in 1982... Read more
Published on April 7 1999

2.0 out of 5 stars Narrow and compilative overview of Judaic mysticism
The book is written by the former President of the Israeli Academy of Sciences. It reflects traditional Orthodox view on the greatest pages in the Jewish history - Qabbalah,... Read more
Published on Jan 4 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars The seminal work in Kabbalah scholarship
This text is simply indispensible for anyone interested in Kabbalah's history and development. It covers Jewish mysticism from its early beginnings to recent times. Read more
Published on Jul 27 1997

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